Why does the project need a stripe integration?

Thanks, that’s a good question!

Short answer: it doesn’t, unless you use the SaaS version.

Canary is split in two (same codebase):

• Self-hosted version: open-source, runs on your own node, no Stripe, no accounts, no payments.
• Hosted SaaS (canarybitcoin.com): for people without a node, and Stripe is only used here for billing.